UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men’s basketball team showcased its depth Tuesday night as the Nittany Lions tallied 38 bench points and had five players score in double figures to secure an 80-71 win over Navy inside the Bryce Jordan Center.
Penn State moves to 3-0 for the fourth-straight year, marking the first time the Nittany Lions have started 3-0 in four-consecutive years since doing so in eight-straight seasons from 1919-20 to 1926-27. PSU also improved to 15-1 overall inside the Bryce Jordan Center in non-conference matchups under the direction of third-year Peter & Ann Tombros Endowed Head Coach Mike Rhoades, highlighted by wins in each of the last 11 non-conference home games played at the BJC.
Points off the pine drove the Blue & White to their success on Tuesday night, calling on five student-athletes off the bench to combine for an eye-popping 38-6 scoring differential in that statistic. Navy held an early advantage in the game, but following a layup from senior forward Josh Reed at the 16:19 mark of the first half, the Nittany Lions never trailed again. The Nittany Lions spent 35:44 with the lead and rarely fell below a double-digit advantage as Penn State controlled Tuesday night’s affair en route to a 3-0 start in regular season play.
Freddie Dilione V scored a season-best 19 points to lead the Nittany Lions with his second-straight double-digit scoring game. Freshman guard Kayden Mingo published double digits in the scoring column for the third game in a row, accomplishing that feat in every game of his inaugural season to date. The Farmingdale, New York, native also led the Blue & White in rebounds with a career-high seven, in addition to assists with four. Three additional Penn Staters cracked double digits in scoring, with senior forward Josh Reed booking 11 points with a career-high six steals, freshman guard Melih Tunca cracking double figures for the third time in three games with 11 points, and freshman forward Ivan Jurić also dropping 11 points on an efficient 5-for-7 outing from the field.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Midshipmen hauled in the opening tip, but neither team found the bottom of the net until Navy logged an and-one layup at the 19:05 mark to give the visitors a quick 3-0 edge. Mingo notched the first points of the night for PSU on a breakaway lay-in the next trip down the floor, but Navy managed to answer back moments later. Dilione V drilled a left-wing triple on a feed from Mingo, and a putback layup from Reed gave Penn State its first lead of the night at 7-5.
- Mingo found Jurić with an impressive pass for a dunk to give PSU a 9-5 edge, but back-to-back jumpers from Navy saw the game knotted up once more. A triple from Jurić and fastbreak dunk by Dilione V saw the Nittany Lions pull ahead by five, but the Midshipmen managed to prevent any sustained momentum for the Blue & White, trading buckets each way to the tune of an 18-15 PSU advantage at the 11:52 mark. Back-to-back triples from Dominick Stewart gave Penn State a 24-15 lead with 11:06 left in the first, forcing a Navy timeout.
- The offensive pace quieted down under the 10-minute mark, but a tip-in from Tunca saw the Nittany Lions balloon the lead to double figures for the first time on Tuesday night. Navy answered back with a bucket, but a left-elbow 3-pointer from Eli Rice made it 29-18. The Midshipmen went on a 5-0 run from there with a second-chance score and right-wing 3-ball, making it a 29-23 PSU advantage at the under-eight media break in the first half.
- Neither squad managed a score over the next three minutes, but a flagrant foul against Navy on a fastbreak opportunity for Tunca saw the Nittany Lions sink both foul shots and take a 31-23 lead. PSU’s defense remained stout on the Midshipmen’s next trip down, and Reed connected on an and-one to make it a 5-0 Nittany Lion run. Navy snapped the PSU scoring stretch with a right-corner 3-pointer, but a mid-range jumper from the B1G logo fell for Reed moments later. Consecutive trips to the line for Navy saw the Midshipmen pull back within six, and a last-minute trading of baskets made it a 38-32 Penn State lead at the break.
- Navy got the second half of play started with a quick 4-0 scoring run, but a tip-in from Jurić saw the Blue & White preserve their two-score lead. A runner from Mingo pushed PSU in front by six, but an exchange of buckets followed by a triple from the Midshipmen saw the lead cut to three. A quick 5-0 response by the Nittany Lions fueled by a transition 3-pointer from Tunca and layup by Reed forced a Navy timeout at the 15:35 mark with PSU leading, 49-41.
- The Midshipmen scored in transition their next trip down the floor, but following another media timeout, Mingo utilized superior ball-handling and drilled a step-back jumper from the left elbow to preserve the Nittany Lion momentum. Dilione V converted an and-one layup to make it a 5-0 PSU scoring run but back-to-back makes at the stripe for Navy saw the Nittany Lion lead move to eight. Dilione V continued his hot streak from the floor with a runner the next trip down, and a split trip to the stripe from Ciani made it a 57-45 PSU advantage.
- Navy engaged in a 6-0 scoring run over a two-minute period, but a 6-2 response from the Blue & White highlighted by a transition dunk from Mingo made it a 63-53 Penn State edge with less than eight minutes remaining in the contest. The Midshipmen connected for a quick score out of the media timeout and hit a right-wing 3-pointer with 6:30 to go to force a PSU timeout. Navy made it a 7-0 scoring run with a paint jumper, but an and-one from Dilione V brought the Penn State lead back to six.
- Penn State’s defense was suffocating on Navy’s ensuing possession, and excellent work from Mingo in the pick-and-roll set up an easy goaltending call in PSU’s favor. Stewart got in the way of a Midshipmen pass to notch his third steal of the night, and Dilione V hit a pair of free throws to bump the lead back to double digits. Navy answered right back with a driving layup, but an impressive lefty reverse layup from Mingo made it 72-62 with three minutes to go.
- Dilione V earned a trip to the stripe after Navy fouled on the first possession inside three minutes, hitting both shots to make it a 12-point affair. The Midshipmen responded with an and-one layup to cut it to nine, but Mingo hit both halves of a one-and-one at the 1:58 mark to preserve the double-digit advantage. Baskets fell both ways over the waning moments of the game, but PSU was able to close things out and publish an 80-71 victory to improve to 3-0 for the fourth straight year.
GAME NOTES
- The Nittany Lions improved to 3-0 for the fourth consecutive season, doing so for the first time since rattling off eight-straight starts of that nature from 1919-20 to 1926-27.
- With the victory, Penn State moves to 28-30 all-time against Navy, including an 11-3 mark at home. Tuesday's matchup was the first meeting inside the Bryce Jordan Center.
- Redshirt junior guard Freddy Dilione V led the way in scoring with 19 points, two shy of his career high. He tacked on three rebounds and two assists.
- Freshman forward Ivan Jurić dropped 11 points on an efficient 5-of-7 shooting performance from the field. He brought down two rebounds, both offensive, in addition to a steal.
- Senior forward Josh Reed led the way defensively with a career-high six steals in the win. He also contributed 11 points to go along with six rebounds.
- Freshman guard Melih Tunca posted 11 points, three assists, two rebounds and two steals, cracking double figures for the third time in his young collegiate career.
- Freshman guard Kayden Mingo stuffed the stat sheet once again Tuesday night with 16 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two steals. He led the Nittany Lions in rebounds and assists and cracked double digits in the scoring column for the third-straight game.
- Penn State recorded 38 bench points compared to just six for the Midshipmen, highlighted by Dilione V's 19 points off the pine.
- The Nittany Lions forced 16 turnovers to just nine of their own. They outscored Navy, 17-15, in points off turnovers.
- The Nittany Lions pushed the pace with 20 fast-break points while holding Navy to eight.
- Penn State had a strong showing on the glass offensively with 12 offensive rebounds compared to Navy's seven. The Nittany Lions also won the rebounding battle overall by a 31-29 margin.
- Penn State utilized the starting lineup of Kayden Mingo, Melih Tunca, Eli Rice, Josh Reed and Saša Ciani for the second time this season and second time consecutively, improving to 2-0 when utilizing that starting five.
UP NEXT
- Penn State heads to Philadelphia Saturday to face La Salle in a neutral site battle at Xfinity Mobile Arena, the home of the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers. Tipoff is slated for 1 p.m. on Peacock.